Vivo Smokey Moods

During my never ending / never working quest for the figure of my youth I have swapped my supermarket sweet treat for a supermarket shiny makeup treat. This is how I discovered Vivo cosmetics. Quality products at a price that is "treat" not "extravagance" an the added bonus as they are in Tesco so I can earn club card points by buying them and then spend my club card points to buy more! Its win win! 

I grabbed Smokey Moods - Midnight Smoke - Ultimate eye kit (on a late night bread an milk run) for the bargain of £4! 3x eyeshadow - 3.6g and 2.5ml of black liquid liner. The back has a little guide on how to get an dramatic smokey look.

I love these little kits, its like they come with a bonus, I have the brow kit that comes with brow gel (an doubles as a fab trio of natural shadows) and the concealer kit (life saver) that comes with a lovely highlighter and a few other Vivo bits an I don't think I've been disappointed.

All swatches have been done without a primer. 

 The silver gives a beautiful solid covering and the purple is a vivid iridescent shade and a near perfect dupe for the L'Oreal eyeshadow I used on my primers post. The blue worried me as it has noticeable sized pieces of glitter and did feel a bit rough when I swatched it with my finger, strangely when I applied to my eye with a brush it didn't feel at all gritty! If you pat or pack it on with a small flat brush it is dark and twinkly just as in the pan but it also blends out loosing some of the glittery-ness in to a stunning petrol/denim blue shade I absolutely love! The eye liner has a stiff felt tip like nib that you dip in to the tube of liquid liner. You can get a really good fine line with the applicator and a good flick too. The eye liner is quite a watery formula, it doesn't run but does take a few second to dry to a glossy finish an once its dry it does not budge! No flakes no running no smudges. Love it!

Thanks for reading.

Battle of the Primers

Everyone Knows I love a bargain but only as long as its value for money. No point in something half the price when you end up wasting twice the cost.

So I decided to do a comparison, which I'm sure has been done before but I probably missed it!

My two favorite primers are Urban Decay's Primer Potion and MUA's eye primer. I'm currently still using my UD lil free pot that came with Naked. Its 3.7 ml an I believe in the US you can buy this travel size for $9 (roughly about £5.75 - £6). MUA eye primer is 7.5 for £2.50, around double the amount for half the price but is it worth it??

I'll start with the packaging MUA is in the sleek black tube with silver lettering. UD in the purple iridescent "potion" pot with a silver top that reminds me of St Basil's Cathedral in Moscow (yes I know ... strange brain). They both have roughly the same style applicator  just the UD is bent on an angle. I do prefer the UD packaging! but then I guess when its slapped on your eye an left on the dresser no one but you is going to know what bottle it came out of! They apply with exactly the same light almost whipped feel, leaving the eyelid smooth and with any obvious discoloration neutralised.

 

I put UD on my left eye (your right as you look at the photo's below) and MUA on my right eye (your left) I used L'Oreal Infallible 005 Purple Obsession on the lid and Vivo shade 4 Rich Chocolate in the crease. The top two pictures (below...confusing I know) where taken at 8 pm just after I had finished getting ready for work and the bottom pictures as soon as I arrived home at 10.30 am the following day. So a 10 hour night shift and 2 hour meeting I think it a pretty good test. I didn't touch up any of my eye make up during the night. To be honest as you can probably tell I think I only had time to re do my lips stick once!

 I noticed a bit of creasing on both eyes but as I have "old lady saggy lids" I'd still be in stunned shock if there hadn't been any! To me they both performed perfectly an I can't choose a thing between them! So it comes down to packaging and price - As cute as the UD bottle is, at double the amount for half the price and factoring the accessibility I think MUA will be my guaranteed repurchase, as I do love the bottle UD Primer Potion will be in my letter to Santa!

Thank you for reading!

MUA Haul

Prepare for a pick heavy post! I can just look at this gorgeous array of MUA colour loveliness for hours (an between you an me I have!) 

Mosaics: I got them 2 for £4 normal price is £2.50 each. 8.9g of product each. I'll start with the packaging. Clear plastic hinged lid that allows you to see what you are reaching for, closes really securely which is a big plus for me (I'm forever losing lids! popping them off if they're not attached). The sturdy case makes it perfect for travel and throwing in to hand bags. Also the have flat lids which makes then way better for storage compared to the domed lid ones.

 In a previous post I said how pleased I was with the ELF bronzing quad and the problems I've had finding a good bronzer - well MUA step up and be tested! I got shade 2-Sunkissed Glow and the blusher shade 1-English Rose.

Th bronzer is a spot on mix of peaces, chocolate browns, flesh and sand tones. The blush colours range from light pinks to deep rose tones, blue based pinks and almost lilac shades. The colour tiles in both blend beautifully the bronzer gives an exceptional soft glow to the skin with just a hint of sheen. The blush is a perfect pinky peach with a delicate gold shimmer. They apply lightly with good pigmentation than can easily be blended out or built up. It was almost a shame to disturb all those little tiles of colour swirling my brush in them but the result was defiantly worth it and i will be repurchasing!

 Lip Booms: £3. I love the Alexandra Burke packaging - particularly as the individual colours have her pictured wearing them not just a generic shot. The two shade I got where "OMG" and "OK.COM". Lip booms come with a mat lip stick at one end a highlighter/gloss at the other. The gloss seems very similar/the same on the 2 shades I picked up (but I've seen the others and they are not all the same) very sheer fleshy peach with teeny tiny micro glitter gold flecks in. Slightly tacky feeling once its settled on the lips but no unpleasant stickiness. The gloss has a faintly surgery/caramel/maple syrup type smell (yip I'm a sniffing again) and the lipsticks have an very faint aroma of coconut/shea, well they do to me lol.

OK.COM is a nude with a hint of peach. Its lighter than my lips (like most "nude" shades) but with this being a mat and a really smooth formula I don't get that nasty smeary streaky look that most nude shades do on me an with the highlighter it gives me a lovely soft glossy lip. OMG comes out a peachy orange on my lips an not a shade I would normally go for but I'm actually liking it, goes really well with a soft summer glow look giving my lips a understated pop.

The highlighter as the name suggest I think is meant to go in the center of the lips for that fuller pout look. I actually use it all over and worn just the gloss with out the lip stick!

 Out Their Plumping lip gloss: £2. I AM IN LOVE!! Bought all 8 which is waaaaay extravagant but I was over come with an urge and I finally got my over time pay. I love the packaging, I love the way the long sleek tubes don't feel cheap an sad but true, I love the way the clink together! Following a good smelling involving my children and long suffering other half there is not describable smell, as in there is a very very faint smell of something but none of us can describe it....(well except the baby who claims they "mell parkly"). Usually plumping lip glosses have a noticeable feeling an most I find reassuring that they might actually be doing something I have one "pucker" plumping gloss (mentioning no names) I actually find really uncomfortable an quite stingy. With the Out There glosses there is the mildest warm sensation. Again like the boom glosses they aren't overly sticky, they dont smear all over coffee mugs, my hair doesn't get stuck to them and I haven't seen them on my teeth yet.The colours are fantastic, plenty of pigmentation. To be honest all I can say is LOOKY LOOKY LOOOOOK! lol

Thank you for taking your time to read!

AKF apologies and NYC lip sliders

For a new blog I an being sooo neglectful but I have been busy with work and any one who does nights will know it can be a bit unsociable :o( plus the school holidays are now under way, I seem to blink an loose 3 days! So plenty of Away From Keyboard time going on sorry.

Any way back to important things .....

NYC lip sliders!

I'm not a big fan of tinted lip balms. If I have chapped lips I treat them if I want colour I use lip sticks or glosses etc. I know the NYC lip sliders have been around for a while but being a tinted gloss never really grabbed me, however at 2 for £1 its just impossible not to try! Sugar Angel didn't even make it home to be photographed with being tested lol.

I got Sugar Angel, Sugar Coated, Sugar Kiss and Sugar rush. 9g of product per tin. they have a slightly vanilla smell and the packaging is so cute. 

I love the little tins being different from the usual screw top pots. I'm really surprised at the colour quality. Not enough to give my lips a hugely strong block of colour but defiantly a glossy tint with the plus side of not being so strong they stain your finger. Nothing to sticky but a good lip smacking feel. I'd definitely recommend them to balm an gloss lovers and I can definitely see them being thrown in to my bag for those low / no make up days!

Accessorize - X-mas set & You Are Everything

At Christmas Superdrug had an Accessorize set on 3 for 2, then on half price! So don't mind if I do after all it would be rude not to! I used 2 for gifts and the 3rd as a treat for being such a bargain spotter lol. After all 3 sets for £20 deserves a treat! Each set contained a blusher, cream highlighter mascara, body butter and 3 eye shadows. 

Accressorize is not a brand of cosmetics I've ever used before but at such a bargain and because a luuuurve the butterfly packaging this was the perfect way to give it a go.

I've not used the body butter yet, I'm still working my way through the truck load of butters, balms, scrubs, lotions etc I got for my birthday/Christmas. It has a nice fresh floral smell (I'm sooooo useless at describing smells!). I've used everything else and nothing has disappointed!

The highlighter (50ml) is smooth and pearly. Gives a really lovely iridescence with out being glittery and turning my face in to a disco ball. The eye shadows (2.5g each) are well pigmented and apply nicely There is a small amount of fall out but nothing more than I'd expect from any darker shades (silver - silver dove, purple - ultra violet, black - graphite). The blush in Scandal (8g)  is a lovely almost dusky pink glow with a tiny hint of peach and gold shimmer. My favorite thing in the set is the mascara (5.5ml). the brush is long slim an a straight "classic" twist of bristles. Its black, it doesn't flake, there is very little trans-fare an no clumping. No bells or whistles it makes my lashes black...simple.

During one of my "I'm just looking" sessions I decided to indulge in some more Accosserize cosmetics. I do love their packaging. Fun and girly with out looking like it just got sneezed out by the glitter fairy. I grabbed the "You are Everything" palette for a purse pleasing £8.95.

Its a slim palette in a stiff cardboard fold held shut by a strip of elastic in the usual multicoloured union flag design with random butterflys and wild flowers. Decent sized mirror and ideal size for traveling. 

32 little round pans totaling 16g of product. there are a few mat shades in the lighter shadows the rest are pearls and shimmers. The lighter colours don't match the darker and brighter ones in pay off and I found them a little chalky. The darker shadows have a tremendous pay off for the price they are a little powdery too in the pan but apply smoothly to the eye with an almost creamy feel. I like the way they are arranged in 8 columns of 4 shades of each colour: naturals, purple mauves, greens, bronzes, pinks, silvers, blues and purples. Having pinky tones is quite unusual but I'm liking! 

I don't regret buying this palette and I will use it but I doubt I'd replace it, I may buy some of the individual shadows. I am planning on getting my fingers on some more of the Accessorize blushes and of course I will replace the mascara!

Thank you for taking the time to read.

ELF 50% off haul

I got this mahooosive box of loveliness for just £25.47 (inc p&p), averaging a piffling £1.27 per item! How could I resist? Well I have no will power at the best of times but when it comes to make up AND bargains an attempt as self control was futile!

Blending eye brush (75p) and Contour eye brush (£1.88) where no brain-ers, 2nd purchase of both. Lovely soft brushes perfect for the right amount of colour in the right place and smooth blending.

Dramatic lashes, Natural lashes and Individual lashes (75p each) are a "suck it an see". I do like a lot of lash but being a contact lens wearer & having droopage in the lid area (as well as most other places) I'm always looking for a really comfy lash! I will up date when I've given these a go.

Make up Mist & Set (£1.88) 60 ml. Love, love, have always loved my MAC fix plus (I know its not technically a setting spray) but at £12.50 a bottle and me going through it by the shed load I was really intrigued to try this. Ive only used it the last 2 nights in work and so far so good. Its got a lovely fresh smell that doesn't linger. Face still reasonably intact by the time i got home this morning!

Exact Lash Mascara (£1.88). Bought this purely for the tiny brush to be used on my bottom lashes. I have dark colouration round the luggage in that area and any transfer from the lower lashes look soooo bad. Like the Mist & Set 2 nights in work and all seems pleasing!

Cool Bronzer (£1.88) 13g. I have been meaning to get this for a while. Despite having dark brown hair (with natural silver highlights :op) and brown eyes I'm quite pasty skinned with a smattering of pale freckles. Most bronzers are either waaaay to dark an I look like Ive been fighting with the baby's chocolate pud or I end up an attractive shade of orange! ELF'S cool bornzer isn't overly pigmented & having the 4 colours in blocks mean with selective brush swirling  you can customise  to your own personal shade. I have had a good play with the colours individually and used this for bronzing, contour, highlight and even a nice light natural eye.

Eye Liner in plum (75p). Ive got a few ELF eyeliners an like the others this 1 has a good pay off, smudges well for smoking out or under a shadow. I don't find they last massively on the water line but to be fair there are some very pricy liners that last even less. I does also come with a sharpener.

Nail Polish (£1.25 each) 10ml. 4 lovely looking colours, excellently matching the website swatches an 2 glittery bottles. Nude (pinky finger) an desert (ring finger) are perfect neutrals. Teal (middle finer) is an amazing pop of bold colour. Twinkle (thumb) has small holographic silver based glitter in its very pretty! It has a slight milky iridescence to the polish so could be worn alone but no so much it cant be layered over another colour. Golden Goddess (pointy finger) has tiny golden glitter in and some larger holographic bits, like Twinkly the polish has a slight colour too. A pearly gold (obviously) and i really liked it. Until I came to take the picture. I'm the 1st to admit that my camera skills are a bit dire but I tried light, dark, flash, natural light, warm, cool etc in various combinations. Below is the best (slightly blurry) picture no matter what I did the lovely golden pearl polish made it look like I had some nasty unholy staining under my nail! So nice "in person" don't wear alone if you gonna be getting you photo taken.

I'm wearing Lilac, nice warm soft mauve & 48 hours of wear with no chipping isn't much for most people but as Ive usually mangled the colour before its dry I'm well pleased!

Lip stick in Fantasy (75p) Never had a lip stick from ELF. Like the colour, matches the website swatch. Feels really creamy and not greasy, nice pay off and build-able colour. Big bonus for me..smells of sherbet!! Me likey!

Liquid Lipsticks (75p each) Long time love affair going on with these lil babys! One of these (Maple Sugar) is a 3rd purchase. They smell an taste a little bit of mint choc chip not strongly so an its very pleasant. Lovely glossy colours in a twist up doe foot applicator. From a tinted gloss to full on colour with out being overly sticky. I wear these on their own, layered over lipstick or liner.

(l-r maple sugar, caramel candy, perfect pink, cherry tart.)

 (all prices are inclusive of the 50% discount)

Well my lovely's, if u managed to stay awake through all the ramble thank you so much for reading!!

June / July budget blow!

I've trying to be strict this last two months with my cosmetic purchases, as you can see that didn't exactly go to plan!

Personally I blame MUA for the release of the Undressed palette and ELF for their 50% off pro-mo - -  minxy little temptresses!! :o)

I was planning to give my 1st impressions of my shiny shiny haul but given my tendency to waffle on a bit I've broken them down in to sorta brand/when I got them chunks, save any one dieing of boredom.

I am going to quickly cover the Superdrug BB cream now, basically because it wont take long. (bottom of the pick slightly left of center)

So far my experimenting with BB cream has me agreeing with most blogs I've read an YT videos I've seen. Its re packaged over charged tinted moisturiser. But ....

Superdrug 5-in-1 day cream, is £8.99 for 50ml, it has SPF 15, is has antioxidant and UBV/IBA filers an is paraben free. It give a nice light coverage, slightly more than the other BB creams I've tried (all be it thats only 2 Garnier and Boots no7). Still needed extra coverage on my under eye suitcases and the odd blemish but unlike my tinted moisturiser it has the SPF. It doesn't have much of a scent which is good, (whiffy sun block smell not good!!) 
Good for a quick light/natural face when in a rush or just wanting minimal coverage. Almost defiantly going to re purchase this product.